STATE MATS DIVISION I: History a match away for Perry's Carr, Jackson's Marcelli

Friday

Mar 9, 2018 at 9:50 PM

Panther senior will have a chance to join Ohio four-time state champions club; Polar Bear senior will have a chance to finally get his first state title.

Chris Easterling IndeOnline.com Sports Editor @ceasterlingINDE

COLUMBUS It's a moment both David Carr and Victor Marcelli have been waiting a long time to reach. Now, it's just a match away.

For Carr, the Perry senior 152-pounder has a chance to make history on Saturday by joining the exclusive club of four-time Ohio state champions. For Marcelli, the Jackson senior 182-pounder, it's an opportunity to finally get the state title he's work so desperately hard to achieve.

Both were able to put themselves on the brink of such accomplishments thanks to continuing what has been a post-season long push with a pair of wins during Friday's competition at the Ohio State Individual Wrestling Championships in Columbus. Now, they will wait to wrestle one more time for the ultimate glory.

It's a wait both are more than willing to make.

"It's just being relaxed, having fun," Carr said after his 16-1 tech-fall win over Elyria's Farouq Muhammed in the semifinals put him in a championship-match showdown with Marysville's Jake Marsh. "When I'm relaxed and I'm just chill, I have fun. When I have fun, I wrestle good."

Both Carr and Marcelli have been having fun and wrestling well in the first two days of the state tournament. Carr's tournament has featured an opening-round pin, then a pair of tech falls during Friday's competition over Lima Senior's Naeem Russell and Muhammed.

Marcelli path was almost as smooth. Two tech falls to open the competition, including a 16-1 win over Dublin Scioto's Deron Pullam in the quarterfinals, led him to the semifinals against Barberton's Gary Wokojance.

After two consecutive semifinal losses, the third time was the charm. Marcelli beat Wokojance 8-2 to earn a spot in the title match against Olentangy Liberty's Trevor Lawson, an opponent Marcelli pinned in December at the Ironman Tournament.

"So, I'd fallen twice in the semis the last two years," Marcelli said. "Two very winnable matches. Just getting over this hump, it feels good; it kind of takes the weight off my shoulders. I can't say I'm too happy; I don't feel too much relief. I'm still very focused."

In that way, both wrestlers share something else in common. To find the right metaphor, it may be best to think of the duck.

On the surface, the duck look almost serene. Beneath the surface, the duck is working like crazy to keep moving forward.

So it is with both Carr and Marcelli. A calm exterior belying a bundle of nerves within each of them.

"I look like I'm joking around and laughing before matches, but I'm actually nervous," Carr admitted. "I know I have to wrestle hard. It's just that type of feel."

It's something both wrestlers have done with great success over most of the their careers. Now, going into their final matches, they are looking to cap off pristine senior seasons in grand fashion.

Carr takes a 38-0 record into his last match as a high-school wrestler. Marcelli, meanwhile, takes a 56-1 mark into his thanks to his semifinal win.

Like his Perry counterpart, Marcelli admits that

"It's never going to be enough," Marcelli said. "I'll be happy tomorrow. It's a huge goal to win the state tournament; we didn't come here for anything less."

Carr and Marcelli were the only two of five Stark County Division I wrestlers to be able to break through into the finals. Perry's Emil Soehnlen lost to Liberty's Carson Kharchla 7-2 in his 170-pound semifinal, preventing him from getting a chance to repeat as a state champion.

Both Luke Reicosky and Ben Smith were blocked in their attempts to give Hoover its first state finalist since Mike Grogan in 2003. Reicosky, the Viking 160-pounder, lost 2-1 in the alternating tiebreaker to Elder's Austin Murphy, while Smith lost 17-10 in a 195-pound semifinal to St. Edward's Dakota Howard.

"Both guys wrestled their hearts out," Hoover coach Nick Gamble said as he fought back tears. "They gave us everything they've got. That's all you can ask for."

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.